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' " ' ' I . - - I 12garnet&black em On the mad to success with USC's own Shades of Grey IjASon lYnes| I first met Kenny Floyd last summer at a charity camp for cancer children called "Camp Happy Days and Special Times" in Charleston. He worked for the camp, but ended up literally skipping out on the messy tables and dirty floors he should've been cleaning to roam the camp looking for children to please. He wielded not candy or ice cream, but a simple guitar, singing his soul out to these children who had little left to hang onto. Not exactly a cure for cancer, but the kids had the times of their lives, yelling "ELMGH goes the little green frog one day! UM ELGH UM ELGH UM ELGH ELGH ELGH!" Today Floyd's intensity has yet to tire, as lead singer of USC's own Shades Of Grey. bourwood, baby!! he abruptly yells - not two minutes into the interview - to drummer John Stout. "Tonight - Mad Hatter! You're there!" We lounge downtown, in the heart of Five Points, slurping on cokes supplied by Manager Vance at Yesterday's. The streets are filled with the sweet Thursday night sound of amateur Columbian bands, most willing to jump at the chance to be in the shoes of Shades Of Grey. Composed of Kenneth "Kenny" Floyd on vocals and guitar, Spencer Rush on lead guitar, who's skipped out on us in favor of Clemson basketball, John Stout on drums, Hesham "The New Guy" Mustafa on bass, and Chris Bussell on saxophone and flute, Shades Of Grey are moving in quite nicely into Columbia's burgeoning music scene. Having played the Five Points area heavily, Shades have opened for Edwin McCain at the Myrtle Beach Hard Rock Cafe, played with Widespread Panic at Cockstock '96, and are scheduled to appear in April's Carolina Cup. But I'd like offer a warning to unsuspecting music fans: this 1- 1 1 L:_: 1 J lmi i yuur average iulk uanu. ^>uiiiuiiiing 5axupiiuue, nuie anu a heavy jazz sound reminiscent of Dave Matthews Band and Blues Traveler with Latin rhythms and the grainy southern voice of Floyd, Shades Of Grey have a soul-saturated sound that rocks your socks like few others can. Take for instance their original fan favorite "Emphysema." The waning opening feedback signals a high rocking on the tertainm H I |i w- ^H? tRjm V tj MHi H TOfiWffWBPy wM, - --- -^^iiagMii W & V) o FEELIN1 ABIT IDIOTIC: Shades Of Grey,from left Ch Milage Idiot. Look for Shades at next month's Carolina Cuj. Richter, as southern-fried funk bobs through Rush's heavy guitar. Floyd's serious howling on the track almost overshadows the wickedly witty lyrics: "Emphysema /I'm tired of breathin /Cut my lire line... Emphysema/ 1 can t breathe. Pure genius. Off their latest independent CD Waiting For the Present, "Emphysema" and the rest of 'em have a different sound than the upcoming release. Set to hit Columbia this fall, the new effort will set out to define Shades' sound. ff People are always trying to tell us who we sound like - we want to say we sound like Shades Of Grey, ff Chris Bussell saxophone and flute player "We hope that we can concentrate and define a sound for ourselves," says Mustafa. "We need to concentrate on our strongest sound." With so many different sounds lately, though, Mustafa said a stronger, more identifiable sound need: to be on the CD. "It's kinda like several different idioms that are tied together," Stout says, "like it's coming from the..." ont H agffiB V ^S^agp^ '^'' ~ Ipfil 1^1 ? _ ;: - .- dp^Jy^. <ris, Spencer, John, Hesham and Kenny, at Five Points' ) as they'll be thefeatured band on WARQJs College Park stage. from the soul, Noyd adds. Bussell pipes in: "People are always trying to tell us who we sound like - we want to say we sound like Shades Of Grey." As for the immediate future, they have one thing on their minds: "We kinda all want to graduate," Stout says. So until then, they'll play on weekends, select week nights, expanding their growing fan base in the southeast. After that, who knows what the future will hold. Not that being in Columbia and playing with local greats Soul Mites, Sourwood Honey, and Jump Little Children is a bad thing. Says Bussell, "I can't think of a better place to be."